Raising Chickens for Meat - Page 4

Hello! My husband and I are thinking of getting some chickens to raise just for the meat. We already have 1 rooster, 11 hens and 13 chicks. The chicks are still inside because they are little yet and need to be under the light. My husband went this morning and they told him that he would have to buy 25 in order to get any at the Tractor supply store. I don't mind getting that many however I do need to know if we should keep them separated from our egg layers? Can anyone help us with this one

 I read this thread and when I got to the part about the roosters screaming when they were processed, I just had to shake my head.  I've been processing chickens for 36 years now and have never once heard one scream.....I'd say that someone is doing it wrong. 

You might try learning how to process with someone reliable and who knows what they are doing so you can put your mind at ease.  When done properly it is pretty much a silent operation, with calm birds and calm processors going about the business of living and dying.  Nothing dramatic or horrible to witness at all. 

Every adult should know how to kill and process their own foods and also pass down that knowledge to their children.  It's just one of those good things to have in your back pocket when times get rough....sort of like knowing how to change a tire when you really need to know and there is no one else there to help you.  If you don't know, you will be wishing you had taken the time to learn it....and it's the same with learning to kill for food. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beekissed 

 I read this thread and when I got to the part about the roosters screaming when they were processed, I just had to shake my head.  I've been processing chickens for 36 years now and have never once heard one scream.....I'd say that someone is doing it wrong. 

 

You might try learning how to process with someone reliable and who knows what they are doing so you can put your mind at ease.  When done properly it is pretty much a silent operation, with calm birds and calm processors going about the business of living and dying.  Nothing dramatic or horrible to witness at all. 

 

Every adult should know how to kill and process their own foods and also pass down that knowledge to their children.  It's just one of those good things to have in your back pocket when times get rough....sort of like knowing how to change a tire when you really need to know and there is no one else there to help you.  If you don't know, you will be wishing you had taken the time to learn it....and it's the same with learning to kill for food. 

WOW! You are so right on! I am just getting ready to order "meat only" chicks and not really knowing what I'm in for. The last several purchases of store bought birds were JUNK!  My problem is mostly not knowing what to order and exactly how to butcher and/or dress. But I will go without chicken dinners if I have to pay good money for that crap you get at the grocery store!!

Been doing the veggie gardening thing, canning & freezing for many, many years but now it's time for some meat. I just have to get over the love bonding with the new chicks and that will be hard.

Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you for whatever you have to offer !!!!

All baby animals are easy to bond with...sort of a built in feature that causes their mothers to want to nurture them~even our own are cuter and more adorable in their baby years. 

The trick is to remember that they aren't YOUR children...babies, yes, but not your babies.  Feed, water and marvel over their little antics but avoid getting too maudlin and absorbed in their lives.  I always love watching all my animals going about their lives, even the CX chicks...they are a hoot to raise and watch!  You are their babysitter but not the mama...it's a good thing to keep in your mind and heart. 

All animals have a purpose on this Earth and I think most of us humans have lost track of the purpose of our animals...we tend to want to humanize them, keep them in our homes and deeply embedded in our daily lives.  It becomes hard to be objective when a person views their animals in this way...and I find that a person gets a lot of grief from other people when they find that you can separate your feelings from your brain in this world today, in regards to animals.

Central Hatchery in NE has the cheapest CX chicks going this season, that I have found.  The chicks are robust and arrive on time and healthy, with 4 extras in the shipment.  

I'm feeding fermented feeds and am not following the traditional feeding/management of CX, so if you don't want to try new things with your first meat bird experiment, you might read on the other threads about how they do theirs.   I am trying to eliminate the things that make the CX something that people call "dirty, smelly, Frankenchickens," and claim that they will only live to processing age and then develop health problems.  

So far, so good....the last batch I raised were wonderfully healthy, clean, not expensive to raise and foraged right along side my layers.

This batch is doing well also...no stinky poops, no mobility problems, healthy as little horses.

Here is an excellent tutorial on here that everyone should read...very fine technique on the processing and the pics are beautiful, step by step and very thorough(not exactly how I do it in large volume, but still great for folks with just a few ):

  http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/how-to-process-a-chicken-at-home

For an alternative story about CX methods, here is a thread with some interesting results:

http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/325493/letting-my-broody-raise-20-meaties-pics-of-the-finished-product

Alternative feeding methods:

http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/644300/fermenting-feed-for-meat-birds

Even cheap and alternative housing solutions:

http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/cattle-panel-hoop-coop

i have read this thread from start to finish.  i am new at chicken raising.  i'm raising dual purpose.  i might try the meaties at a later date.  i sure wish i had a mentor standing beside me when the day comes for processing.  i'm determined, but scared.

beekissed - i really appreciate your post.  as usual you offer good advice & great info.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bj taylor 

i have read this thread from start to finish.  i am new at chicken raising.  i'm raising dual purpose.  i might try the meaties at a later date.  i sure wish i had a mentor standing beside me when the day comes for processing.  i'm determined, but scared.

beekissed - i really appreciate your post.  as usual you offer good advice & great info.

Send me a plane ticket and I'll be there.....   

Beekissed ~ thank you for the reality check. Some 'critters' are to be raised for food and the "heavies" just are not happy birds after a certain point. Maybe it won't be as hard as I think!

Yes, you need to keep them separated from the egg layers.  They are too small to defend themselves from a full sized bird.  If the egg layers are close to their age, then yes, they can live together.

Can you share this skinning process?  My husband is pretty quick with the plucking but so far he has only had to do it when we needed to cull the roos.  I on the other hand do not want to be around!!!!!  I love my chickens but I also like to eat chicken so we are looking into purchasing some meat chickens.  I of course will just have to stay away from them and absolutely no naming!  Not sure if I am excited about this new adventure yet?

The easiest skinning method I've found is splitting up the belly and breast, pulling that back from the torso, cutting the skin horizontally along the "waistline" on both sides a bit, and then it just is shucking out the extremeties from that juncture.  CX are so tender and their skin shucks off so easily that the only problem is that it actually tears when you don't want it to...like when you are trying to get it entirely down and off the legs and upper wing areas. 

Older chickens are a little tougher to skin along the back without a little knife work to cut the skin away from the connective tissue that keeps it close to the bones along the back.  Other than that it is much like taking a tight jacket and pants off a small baby/child....a little bit of a struggle but you just have to get the hang of it, then it gets easier. 

Of course, it's very much easier if the bird is still warm and supple immediately after death.